


Vanilla Latte

by Rach4040



Series: Soulmate AUs [1]
Category: Golden Child (Korea Band)
Genre: M/M, Soulmate AU, University AU, but its one word and i mean shit isnt too bad a word is it, coffee shop AU, its a bad summary i apologisse, kind of an open ending?, non famous AU, so many aus what, soulmate identifying marks, theres some slight swearing near the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 06:38:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12600520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rach4040/pseuds/Rach4040
Summary: In which Jibeom is a cute barista and Jaehyun is oblivious. But an essay brings them together in the end.





	Vanilla Latte

**Author's Note:**

> heya! this is my first fanfic for gncd so please bear with me. the characterisation might be a little off, im sorry, but any feedbakc is appreciated! (also pls not it is 2:30am as i post this there might be a few mistakes and such)

Winter had slowly crept up on their city, abruptly rolling all over them last night. Temperatures had dropped, thick white snow covering the whole city and nearby countryside and it had carried on snowing the whole day. Jaehyun suspected his hair was covered in it as well, just like his shoulders and the scarf wrapped around his neck a few times were.

Winter had come so suddenly that no one was really prepared for it. Jaehyun’s lecture halls at university had been freezing cold, the heaters hadn’t been turned on on time to warm up the large rooms. At least some of the cafeteria staff felt pity and handed out hot water for free. By the time his first lecture finished Jaehyun was shivering and sniffling, after the next his fingers and toes were feeling numb. When he’d finally been good to go another lecture later, he discovered that the bus he would usually take home was cancelled due to ice on the streets, meaning Jaehyun was stuck on campus until he could reach his roommate to ask him to give him a ride or he could take a cab. Only thinking about the latter option hurt his heart, being your usual broke college student and all. Walking home was out of question, too, it was too cold and too far. (Jaehyun might also be a little too lazy.)

Jaehyun sent a text message to his roommate Joochan, asking when he’d finish his classes and drive home. He hoped he’d get an answer soon, but he decided he deserved to indulge in a hot, overly sugary cup of coffee from at the university-owned coffee shop. Which was the only one remotely near, but surprisingly not as shitty as one would expect, meaning it was usually overflowing with sleep-deprived students in need of a caffeine-boost. 

A small bell chimed overhead as Jaehyun shuffled into the small shop, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm them up a bit. Most of the tables were taken, but Jaehyun found an empty one towards the back where he set his bag down. He had been just as unprepared for the sudden onslaught of cold and ice as everyone else, possibly less, so he hadn’t bought any winter-appropriate clothing yet. He’d thrown on two thick, woolen sweaters to fend off the cold instead, paired with a long scarf he’d found in the back of his closet and wrapped around his neck a few times. It wasn’t idea, but it kept him relatively warm. Now in the cozy warmth of the coffee shop Jaehyun took off one of the sweaters and his scarf, draping them over the back of his chair. 

The queue in front of the counter was short and disappeared quickly, Jaehyun spent the wait checking his phone to look if Joochan had answered already. He hadn’t. Before he knew it, it was his turn, the barista calling him forwards with a “Hi, what can I do for you today?” Jaehyun took a few steps up to the counter. The barista was very handsome, about Jaehyhun’s age and not too far from his own height. His nametag read ‘Jibeom’ in a cursive script and only when Jaehyun looked back at Jibem’s face he realized he’d been staring. Blushing, he stuttered out his order and the barista typed it into the register. He told him the total amount and scribbled down Jaehyun’s name and order on a paper cup while waiting for him to pay. Jaehyun fumbles with his coins, counting again to make sure he’d hand over the right amount.

“Your drink will be ready in a moment, my colleague will call out your name. Thank you for stopping by!” Just after Jaehyun walked on to wait at the pick-up counter, after saying his thanks, he felt a small pang in his chest. He kept on walking anyway, especially because he’d already embarrassed himself enough that day, but also because his name was called out a second later. He picked up his vanilla latte and returned to his table, rubbing small circles on his chest, mind still occupied with that sudden unfamiliar pain he’d felt before.

As soon as Jaehyun had sat down and taken the first sip of his still scalding hot coffee, his mind had already wandered to the paper he had yet to even begin. His philosophy professor liked to make them think about social norms and why they existed. This time, on top of reading several articles on the topic that served as research, they had to write an essay on soulmates and soulmate identifying marks. A few other people in his class also hadn’t been too pleased with the topic, groaning out loud in frustration. Soulmates were such an elemental part of their lives, similar to breathing, the thin lines etched into the skin of their forearms since birth forming their own names in an often unfamiliar handwriting, their soulmate’s. Jaehyun was very unsure of what to write, he didn’t even know how to start on an outline.

He looked down at his right wrist, characters in dark ink forming his name. Bong Jaehyun, it read. It was a bit messy but still recognizable. He used to fret about them a lot, his soulmate. What would they be like, what gender were they, did they live far away. Would he ever meet them, he thought during darker nights. However, as he grew older he realised it didn’t do him any good to worry this much about something he had no control whatsoever over. Fate would bring him and his soulmate together – or not. In that case he could always find someone that hadn’t met their soulmate either, which wasn’t too unusual. 

Maybe he could make that the topic of his essay: Fate. The ideas presented and discussed over to meddle with it and the way no one really questioned the marks. Jaehyun jotted down a few bullet points, then picked up his coffee cup and took another sip.

What kind of soulmate that handsome barista might have, Jaehyun wondered, and out of pure curiosity he looked at the way his name was scribbled on the paper cup. Jaehyun had already forgotten the barista’s name, but the guy had quite the nice handwriting. It was slightly messy, characters rounded, but easy enough to read. It looked somewhat familiar.

Jaehyun sat there shell-shocked for a moment, eyes wandering from his cup to the tattoo on his forearm and back. It was the same. Round, almost cursive, lines, sharp angles a stark contrast. 

When he looked back at the counter, turning around uncomfortably in his seat. But the handsome barista - _his soulmate!_ -was nowhere to be found, instead a different guy stood there, typing on his phone as there were no customers currently requiring his attention.

Jaehyun cursed under his breath, paper cup held tightly in his hand. Slowly, unsure, he walked up to the counter. The barista looked up, smiling, and asked: “Hi, you here for a refill?” Jaehyun fumbled with his words, overwhelmed with the situation. “Uh, n-not exactly. Could you- by chance, the guy working the register before, is he still here? Or do you have any contact details, anything?” The barista’s eyebrows wandered up his forehead, clearly asking himself what this random guy wanted from one of his co-workers. Jaehyun didn’t know how to put it in words, so instead of an actual explanation he just held out his right forearm and the still half full coffee cup, displaying the matching set of characters. 

The barista stared for a second, eyes widening. “Holy shit,” he breathed out, obviously not having expected that. “Wait, gimme a sec. I’ll try to call him. He only left, like, ten minutes ago.” Jaehyun waited with bated breath, unsure of whether he actually wants his soulmate to pick up his phone or not. A moment later the automatic voice mail plays, the barista frowned.

“I’m sorry, he doesn’t seem to be picking up his phone? I also can’t give out any personal info, shop policy. You can leave a message, though, if you want. Jibeom has another shift tomorrow morning, I think.” Jibeom was the name, of course! “Otherwise, if you’re staying for a little while longer I can try to call him again in a minute or two? He has his phone muted most of the time, though…” he trailed off.

Just in that moment Jaehyun’s own phone started to ring, and he knew it was Joochan from the ringtone, probably about the whole giving him a ride thing. Jaehyun decided his soulmate was a lot more important, so he let his phone ring until it turned to voice mail. He realised he had yet to answer the friendly barista and quickly replied: “Yes, uh, no. Can- can I leave a note for now? I don’t mean to trouble you any further, as long as he gets the note.”

“It’s no problem, really. Here you go,” he passed Jaehyun a pen from somewhere behind the counter and Jaehyun grabbed a napkin as well. He was about to start writing, when he looked up at the barista. “Wait, sorry – what’s Jibeom’s family name?”

“Kim. Kim Jibeom”

 _Kim Jibeom_ Jaehyun wrote, then halted. What else should he say? He heard his phone go off in the background, Joochan again, and felt he needed to hurry. 

_My number is 150-xxx-xxx_  
_\- Bong Jaehyun_  
_P.S. your soulmate, apparently_

He slid the napkin over to the barista, thanking him profusely and bowing once or twice. “I’ll go put it in his locker right away, he’s bound to see it in there,” the barista answered kindly, and then left to go in the back room. Jaehyun checked his phone, hands jittery, finding two missed calls and a few missed messages from Joochan. Jaehyun sent him a short affirmation of his whereabouts, then started packing up his stuff. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come, he realised. The air outside doesn’t feel as cold, he realises as he leaves the small shop.

 

After a restless night and half a nervous breakdown, Jaehyun receives a text from an unknown number in the morning.

(He kept the paper cup, but rinsed it out with water.)

(He later found out Jibeom had kept the napkin, too.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! comments are always appreciated too  
> \- as i said before its a bit late + im new to the fandom so im sorry for any mistakes  
> \- english also isnt my first language so there might be a few mistakes caused by that too  
> \- hmu on tumblr @ cinnamoonbunbin i need more pals to talk abt gncd with!!  
> again, thanks for reading! ill head to bed then, good night ^^


End file.
